


Nerra An

by EclipseMidnight (EternalEclipse)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: And Waxer and Boil Think So Too, Fluff, Gen, Numa is Adorable, just cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-21 02:50:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15547953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalEclipse/pseuds/EclipseMidnight
Summary: Waxer and Boil have a free day on Ryloth, and they spend it bonding with Numa.





	Nerra An

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tiend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiend/gifts).



They didn’t have much they could give to a child. They didn’t have much at all, as was their lot as clones. They couldn’t even promise her time, with all the dangers they faced so regularly in the war they’d been bred to fight. But as they watched the sleeping child, Waxer and Boil knew that they had to do something for her before they left.

Anything would have to wait for morning though—the girl had a surprisingly strong grip for someone so small. It seemed that they weren’t going to sleep in their bunks that night at all. But sleeping out in the open for a night was hardly a hardship now that they knew the planet was safe. They both clung to Numa as much as she did to them as they also drifted off to join her in sleep.

Waxer and Boil were so focused on the sleeping girl that they missed the tell-tale flash of Clicker’s camera, the quiet giggle, and the footsteps. Perhaps that was for the best.

* * *

Boil woke first, squinting against the way the bright lights of the dawn fell through the leaves of the tree they had slept under and into his eyes. He glanced over at Waxer, whose face was buried in Numa’s small lekku. Both of them were still out for the count, though Boil doubted that that would last much longer. Much as Waxer might like to sleep in, they were surely going to be called back to the ship soon enough. But, just this once, he’d let Waxer sleep a few minutes longer. Besides, he didn’t think he _could_ wake him without waking up the kid too.

It wasn’t all that long before Numa started waking up, shifting to hide her eyes from the sun as she did. That movement woke Waxer as well. They both watched Numa yawn widely, looking more like a normal cute young child that could have been from any of the safer planets in the galaxy than the angry, half-feral warrior they’d met the day before.

“Nerra?” Numa asked quietly.

“Right here, sweetheart,” Waxer murmured against her head.

Surprising them both, Numa twitched away for a moment, before giggling.

“Guess that tickled,” Boil snorted, pushing himself up on one elbow.

All too quickly, all three of them had righted themselves and brushed the dirt off of their clothes as best they could. It was rather more obvious on the formerly-pristine clone armor than Numa’s dress, which had seen a fair amount of wear and tear even in the last couple of days.

“You know,” Boil kept an eye on Numa as she climbed the tree. “If they haven’t called us in yet, I don’t see any reason to hurry back.”

Waxer squeezed Boil’s hand. “I like the way you think, brother.”

* * *

Waxer and Boil led Numa back to where many of the other citizens had congregated to share a meal. There were a number of brothers mixing with the rest, probably thinking the same thing as they were. While they still couldn’t speak with the locals, they could still communicate a bit with gestures, and it was never a bad thing to get to spend time off-ship around friendlies.

Numa had run off right when they got there, dragging them along for a few heartbeats before deciding that she wanted to reach her destination faster and letting go. They’d both stumbled, but by the time they had gotten back their balance they saw Numa in the arms of another twi’lek. The uncle they’d met the previous afternoon, Boil thought.

When the man put her down, Numa went back to the pair of clones and dragged them by the wrists to her uncle. The elder twi’lek smiled at them and offered them each a plate of the food he was serving. While it was standard to eat rations while planetside, since they didn’t want to find out that they were deathly allergic to something the hard way, they wouldn’t have wanted to turn down the meal, especially when several other brothers were already eating and they seemed fine.

It tasted strange, but not bad, and Numa smiled when she saw them eating it, so they made sure to finish every bite.

When they went to bring their dish back to help with cleaning, Waxer and Boil were gently but firmly pushed away by their brothers. They saw Numa standing on the edge of the common area, her uncle nowhere in sight. Knowing that they’d have to make it up to the rest later, Waxer and Boil went to join her.

* * *

Numa spent most of the morning taking Waxer and Boil on a tour of the area. There wasn’t much to see, admittedly—the Separatists’ droid armies weren’t exactly known for their consideration—but they tried to look at it as Numa intended, a tour of her home, and let it provide motivation to keep fighting.

They walked through streets where people were slowly moving back into homes and shops, several of whom smiled at the clones and many more who greeted their young charge. Numa alternated between gripping both of their hands and running up to this person or other, giggling and looking five years younger than she had just the day before.

A few other kids showed up, and Numa talked with several of them in the local dialect the clones didn’t know. All but one of them were interested in the clones as well, and they both shook a lot of hands, but in the end they all went their separate ways, most of the young ones back to helping their parents dig themselves out of the devastation.

There were several other clones helping out, but the one time Waxer had stopped for a moment to help, he’d found himself cheerfully shooed away by Jigger. By the glint in Jigger’s eye, it was best that he hadn’t tried twice.

So they continued on, a bit out of the settlement now. The sun was getting high in the sky, but Numa showed no signs of wanting to turn back, so vode decided to just go with it. They had ration bars, and Numa had seemed to like the last one they’d given her.

They finally stopped by a stream. Waxer and Boil each claimed a spot against the big tree closest to where Numa was splashing around in the water. When she came back to them, she tried to tug them over to the water to join her. Boil held out an extra ration pack to her instead. She frowned at him, but he frowned back, and eventually she capitulated and took the food.

Waxer chuckled at them both. “You both have the same stubborn face.”

“Oh, I’ll _show_ you a stubborn face!” Boil suddenly jumped on Waxer. Ticking was a bit useless through the armor, and trying to get at the black undersuit when the white armor pieces were on was an easy way to lose a finger, it didn’t take Numa very long to decide to jump on top of the both of them, ration bar already half-gone.

* * *

“This is going to be fun to explain to Requisitions,” Waxer groaned, staring down at the place they’d left their boots. They’d only been swimming for half an hour, but somehow an animal of some kind must have gotten to them, because there was a short trail leading away, and the boots were just gone.

“Saber-Blaster-Cannon for who’s gotta do it?” Boil suggested wearily.

Numa giggled at the both of them before dragging them back towards the town, smiling all the way.

* * *

They’d found themselves quickly being pressed into dinner preparations. While neither of them were allowed near the fire without boots, there were plenty of things to do. There were also plenty of things for younger kids to take part in, but Numa kept getting sent to bring them things. Boil thought he caught Yeb _winking_ when he looked their way, but the other clone turned away before they could see him looking.

Watching the focused look on Numa’s face as she balanced an armful of tubers was more interesting anyway.

“Careful there,” Waxer cautioned her, grabbing the top several off of the pile. That earned him a dirty look. “It’ll be quicker like this, I promise.”

Boil watched as Numa let Waxer carefully replace the three tubers and pretended to go back to work while actually stealthily watching her progress through the crowd, not even pretending that he was any less invested.

The child had stolen his heart as well, in the end. Waxer’s fingers curled around his for a brief moment before Numa got to her destination. She looked over at them, saw them watching, and frowned. The pair of them went back to work rather quickly—they didn’t want to be on the bad end of her temper again.

* * *

Goodbyes, in the end, were short, simple, and to the point. They’d received new marching orders, and the war didn’t end just because they were enjoying being on Ryloth.

That didn’t mean that Boil and Waxer weren’t the last two on the surface carriers back to the fleet, or that they were dry-eyed beneath their helmets.

* * *

“Oi, you two.”

“What’s going on now, Clips?” Boil asked without turning.

“C’mon, up you get,” Clips pulled at Waxer’s arm, completely ignoring their aura of _‘let us mope in peace while we’ve got it’._ “Oi, Crackers! I’ve found them!”

“Good work, rookie!” Crackers called back from down a hallway. “Waxer, Boil, come on, we’ve got something for you.”

“What is it now?” Boil asked, turning to look at them.

“In a minute, but I promise you’ll like it.” Crackers smiled slightly. The rookie was _bouncing_ , for kriff’s sake. Standing up in their new boots reminded them that they’d get blisters soon enough, but what the hell.

* * *

_“Who took these?”_ Waxer ran his finger around the small holo, wishing he could step back into it. Next to him, Boil was similarly speechless.

“Clicker took the pictures, though the rest of us helped get the shots and put it together,” Crackers laughed awkwardly. “We made two, actually. Gave the other to the girl before we left.”

The holo switched from a picture of the three of them splashing in the stream to Numa pouting at them at dinner, and Boil made a wheezing noise that made Waxer turn away from the precious holo to make sure that he was okay.

“I miss her already,” Boil said quietly, grabbing and squeezing Waxer’s hand. And, as the holo switched to an image of Boil giving Numa a piggyback ride, which had only happened for a few minutes before Numa had wanted back _down_ and running, Waxer squeezed his hand in return.

“She’s something to live for,” Waxer replied reverently, watching as the image faded back into the three of them, sleeping under a tree, curled together like a family.

“We’ll go back, someday.”

“Of course.”

* * *

On Ryloth, Numa sat looking up at the stars. She traced the faces in the scrapbook reverently as she did, finger not quite touching it so that she couldn’t mar it. “Stay safe, Nerra,” she whispered to it. The holo switched to a picture of the three laughing together and she smiled, hugging one of the boots she's stolen and hidden. They would all have that again, someday, she was certain.

**Author's Note:**

> Woohoo, I hope you enjoyed this!  
> In case the title is confusing, Nerra is the word for 'brother' in Numa's language and dialect. An means all in mandalorian. Since the clones would believe in Vode An, or brothers all, I thought this was a little bit clever ^^


End file.
